Controversial Patriots Penalty Draws Strong Reaction From James White

Disagree with the unnecessary roughness penalty Brandon Bolden received early in Sunday’s New England Patriots game? So did James White.

White, who suffered a season-ending hip injury in Week 3, took to Twitter to voice his displeasure after a controversial flag on Bolden resulted in a Miami Dolphins first down.

“He didn’t even touch him smh,” the injured Patriots running back tweeted.

Bolden sniffed out a Dolphins fake punt and tackled Michael Palardy short of the line to gain, but because he made contact with Palardy while the punter slid, he was penalized for unnecessary roughness, giving Miami a fresh set of downs.

The Dolphins, who already had scored two touchdowns, wound up getting a field goal to extend their lead to 17-0 in the second quarter.

Former NFL referee and current CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore said on the game broadcast that Bolden should not have been flagged.

“When a player starts to give himself up, if the defensive player has committed to that tackle right as the player has given himself up, as is happening here, provided there is no contact to the head area, which there also isn’t, you wouldn’t want to see a foul on this play. But that play is really a difficult play to referee in real time.”

Bolden, an ex-Dolphin, later cut into Miami’s lead with a 15-yard touchdown run on third-and-1.